“The level of composure and quality we played with, I was very proud of the team. We caused them lots of problems. Individually, of course, they are world class and you can see that at times.

“We are disappointed with the goals. You get punished at this level, but overall we looked like a proper team who are developing at this level.

“There there were so many positives from the game and it’s a huge step for their confidence.

“Apart from the two goals we conceded, I thought defensively we were very, very good.

“We played our shape very well. We blocked spaces and pressed the game at the right moments.

Javi Martinez rises highest to thump home the second goal (Image: PA)

“When we had the ball, we found the gaps and played very, very well, so it gives you confidence.

“As a team they showed a high level of tactical idea and technique to play.

“Right across the team, I was really, really pleased with the co-ordination and how they worked the ball and played with that composure at this level.

“It’s another step for us in terms of being a competitive side playing proper football at this level.”

PSG 7 Celtic 1

It was a tough night in Paris and Rodgers admitted that mistakes were made.

But he was happy with his side for the effort they put in and insists they just had to accept they were beaten by a better team.

That's a fair comment but he wasn't happy with some criticism of his side's defensive work, insisting they did everything they could by playing five defenders.

He said: "What do you want us to do?

"We played five at the back, you want us to play seven along the back and one in goal, one in midfield and a striker?

"Sometimes you just have to take your hat off against top quality.

"Our players gave absolutely everything and ran themselves into the ground. We made mistakes and got punished.

"We tried to limit the damage in the second half, keep the lines tighter and you can see that from the goals - one has dipped in from 25 yards, one has deflected out to Verratti and another good finish from Cavani.

"What more defensively can we do other than not make mistakes?

"We will learn from it and go on."

Celtic 0 Anderlecht 1

In what was arguably the worst defeat of the lot, Celtic were beaten by an Anderlecht side they had thumped earlier in the tournament.

But although it was only 1-0, Rodgers side struggled in possession and looked far behind their Belgian rivals.

And while Rodgers was critical of some of his side's efforts, he focused on the positives of qualifying for the Europa League.

“Over the course of the tournament it is a brilliant achievement for us to qualify.

“We have to be clear about that. For us to come through the group and get into the Europa League is a big achievement and we had some good performances.

Anderlecht celebrate their winner

“I thought we played really well against Bayern Munich at home. Away we got the result against Anderlecht which has now been shown to be a fantastic result.

“We have had some lessons along the way as well and for us, where we are at domestically, we should take huge pride as players and as a club to be in the Europa League in February.

“But it is also dovetailed along with the work that is required to be competitive at this level and that will always remain very difficult for us.

“If you are going to compete then of course it’s about quality.

“I don’t want to be too negative. We were disappointed that we lost the Anderlecht game but how we stuck in there was good.

(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

“We weren’t very good in our ball possession in the first half, in our belief in taking the ball.

“I felt a lot more comfortable in the second half in terms of our ability to keep the ball. That is absolutely vital at this level.

“We had too many players giving the ball away cheaply. We were technically short.

“We are not always technically short but we were technically short. This is a level where if you can’t look after the ball you get punished.”

Zenit 3 Celtic 0

It was another performance where Celtic conceded poor goals and it was something Rodgers pointed out after the game.

He said: "We weren't aggressive enough and a little bit passive and the goals we gave away were really disappointing.

"It was that inconsistency over the course of our European campaign that's disappointed most.

"I think the example of last week, we showed that when our concentration is at its best and we defend forward we can defend really, really well.

Celtic's goalkeeper Dorus de Vries concedes (Image: Getty Images)

"We didn't press the game and squeeze the space enough. It was a better second half but defensively we gave away three very poor goals."

"The first goal can happen, it's a great ball in and a great double block.

"The second goal is disappointing, we've got to engage that bit quicker to not allow the shot - we're too static and waiting on it. The ball moves in the air and wrong-foots Dorus.

"But the third goal was really disappointing defending from our perspective. And really that left the tie very difficult for us."